Feed aggregator

Elsőfokú országos riasztást adott ki a Szlovák Hidrometeorológiai Intézet (SHMÚ) hétfő (12. 18.) reggelre (9:00-ig) a köd előfordulásának a veszélye (50-200 m látótávolság) miatt. Az ország északi járásaira a hegyek erdősáv feletti részén előforduló heves szél fenyegetése (70-85 m/ó-s szél; 110-135 km/ó-s széllökések), "keleten" (délen egészen Losonctól) pedig a jegesedés veszélye miatt van érvényben egész napos elsőfokú figyelmeztetés.

Seit letztem Freitag ist klar, dass Hollywoodstar Matthew Perry (†54) an den Auswirkungen des Narkosemittels Ketamin starb. Der Obduktionsbericht gibt jedoch auch Aufschluss über andere Substanzen, die der Amerikaner zu sich nahm.

Aujourd’hui dans L’Expresso : Irene Montero pour l'Europe, Robert Fico en défense d'un pro-Kremlin et Catherine Colonna en Israël.

Der bulgarische Landwirtschaftsminister Kiril Vatev hat ein Gesetz angekündigt, mit dem der Import von Obst und Gemüse reguliert und faktisch eingeschränkt werden soll. Der EU-rechtliche Spielraum für solche Maßnahmen ist jedoch eng.

Les deux pays ont résolu avec succès un différend qui durait depuis plusieurs décennies au sujet du canal de Bystroe. L’Ukraine est autorisée à poursuivre le développement du canal, à condition que le projet respecte les règles de protection de l’environnement.

Près de la moitié des Polonais pensent que le gouvernement du nouveau Premier ministre Donald Tusk sera meilleur que le gouvernement précédent, dirigé par le parti Droit et Justice (PiS), révèle un sondage de l’institut SW Research pour Rzeczpospolita.

Am Sonntagabend kommt es vor dem Wahlkampfbüro des US-Präsidenten zu einem Zwischenfall. Ein Autofahrer rammt mit seinem Auto eines der Fahrzeuge des Sicherheitskonvois. Schnell wird klar: Der Unfall war keine Absicht und Jill und Joe Biden bleiben unverletzt.

En Israël dimanche (17 décembre), Catherine Colonna a demandé une « trêve immédiate » à Gaza. La ministre de l’Europe et des Affaires étrangères française s'est ensuite rendue en Cisjordanie, avant de rejoindre le Liban lundi (18 décembre).

Die Vancouver Canucks punkten im sechsten Spiel in Folge. Beim 4:3-Sieg gegen die Chicago Blackhawks bereitet der Schweizer Stürmer Pius Suter das 4:2 vor.

Le Premier ministre slovaque Robert Fico souhaite qu’un homme d’affaires slovaque lié au groupe de motards pro-russe Les Loups de la nuit soit retiré de la liste des sanctions européennes, après y avoir été ajouté pour avoir soutenu les intérêts du Kremlin.

Ein Auto ist in Wilmington im US-Bundesstaat Delaware in einen Geländewagen aus der Kolonne von Joe Biden gekracht. Der US-Präsident blieb unverletzt.

Russia's Vladimir Putin looks set to remain in power until at least 2030; India's Narendra Modi seems certain to extend his rule to 2029; and Donald Trump could return to the White House despite charges of subverting US democracy.

Vaud et Genève ne sont plus représentés à la Commission des transports et des télécommunications du Conseil des États, et très peu à celle du National.

L’ancienne ministre de l’Égalité, Irene Montero, qui a récemment fait polémique pour sa promotion d’une loi portant sur le consentement, mènera la liste du parti Podemos pour les élections européennes afin d’avoir une « voix indépendante » séparée du groupe S&D et des Verts/ALE, selon des sources au sein du parti anti-système.

Hétfőn (12. 18.) a nemzeti tanács tagjai ismét visszaülnek a parlamenti padsorokba, hogy folytassák a kormány által javasolt, ún. kompetencia-törvény megvitatását. Hétfőn éjfélig fognak ülésezni, de nem fognak szavazni – a legközelebbi szavazásra a 6-ik ülés megvitatott programpontjairól kedden (12. 19.) délelőtt kerül sor.

In today’s edition of the Capitals, find out more about the French foreign minister calling for an ‘immediate and lasting truce’ in Gaza, Bulgaria aiming to limit the import of agricultural products, and so much more.

After a bittersweet outcome from the final EU summit of the year, the Brussels Bubble will try this week to finalise new rules on fiscal rules and the pact on migration and asylum before the Christmas holiday break.

Younger MEPs are more proactive than others, but they vote in line with their older party members, according to a data-driven investigation by Novaya Gazeta Europe and EUobserver.

L’Europe « pourrait être confrontée à des dangers » en provenance de Russie d’ici la fin de la décennie. Les pays de l’UE doivent développer leurs industries de défense afin d’être prêts, a déclaré le ministre allemand de la Défense, Boris Pistorius, lors d’une interview à Welt am Sonntag samedi (16 décembre).

Azzawieh Market in Gaza City lies in ruins. Credit: UNICEF/Omar Al-Qattaa

By Mouin Rabbani
MONTREAL, Canada, Dec 18 2023 (IPS)

The political significance of US-Israeli differences is easily exaggerated.

It is certainly true that tensions in the relationship exist. Israel is currently committing genocide against the Palestinians in the Gaza Strip. The US would like Israel to reduce – not cease, but reduce – its slaughter Palestinian civilians,

Israel has stated its intention to indefinitely maintain a military presence within at least parts of the Gaza Strip, and rejects any role for the Palestinian Authority (PA) in the governance of the Gaza Strip. The US has indicated it would like to see Israel withdraw to the 1967 boundary and supports replacing Hamas rule with that of the PA, which it believes to be in Israel’s best interest.

Washington would like to resume bilateral Israeli-Palestinian negotiations under US supervision, and has paid lip service to a two-state settlement. Israel has repeatedly and emphatically rejected both proposals.

Neither these nor other disagreements resulting from the current crisis have resulted in any reduction of US military, political, or diplomatic support for Israel, which remains total and unconditional. In other words, US-Israeli tensions have the political significance of a loving couple deciding whether to dine on steak or sushi for their next date.

It has been widely reported, for years, that Biden and his key lieutenants detest Netanyahu, and intensely so. If so, the Israeli prime minister must be thinking: “With enemies like these, who needs friends?”.

On December 12, the 193-member UN General Assembly adopted a resolution on “Protection of civilians and upholding legal and humanitarian obligations” during the 45th plenary meeting of the resumed 10th Emergency Special Session. Member States adopted a resolution, demanding an “immediate humanitarian ceasefire”, the unconditional release of all hostages as well as a call for “ensuring humanitarian access”. It was passed with a majority of 153 in favour and 10 against, with 23 abstentions. Credit: UN Photo/Loey Felipe

The US is not only complicit in Israel’s genocide, it is a full and active partner. For it to propose a “humanitarian pause” under present conditions, which in addition to the continuous, relentless bombing include measures intended to produce starvation, dehydration, and epidemic disease is tantamount to advocating for a Khmer Rouge coffee break.

A meaningless and diversionary charade if ever there was one.

If the Biden administration does take action to enforce international law during the current crisis it won’t be against Israel, but rather against Yemen for interfering with global shipping. Israeli impunity might as well be incorporated into the US constitution.

The performance of the UN Secretariat also leaves much to be desired. It has been extremely slow off the mark, hesitant to a fault, and excessively deferential to the US and Israel. It’s head of Political and Peacekeeping Affairs, Rosemary DiCarlo, has been enveloped in an impenetrable invisibility cloak.

For his part Secretary-General Guterres has been condemning Hamas in the strongest possible terms on an almost daily basis since 7 October but has yet to explicitly condemn Israel for anything.

Candidates for Guterres’s censure would include the mass killings of thousands of children; a medieval siege designed to produce widespread starvation, dehydration, and epidemic disease; an unprecedented campaign to destroy an entire territory’s health sector; the bombing of UN facilities sheltering civilians fleeing hostilities, and a record number of UN staff killed in a conflict, often together with their families.

Among senior officials only Martin Griffiths, the UN’s Under-Secretary General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator, the World Health Organization Director-General Tedros Ghebreyesus, and to a lesser extent Philippe Lazzarini, Commissioner-General of UNRWA, have defied the echo chamber and been more explicit in framing the atrocities in the Gaza Strip.

To his credit, Guterres on 6 December invoked Article 99 of the UN Charter, thereby identifying the crisis as not only a humanitarian emergency but also a threat to the maintenance of international peace and security.

Its significance notwithstanding, history will question why Guterres dithered for two months when it came to calling out Israel for its ferocious onslaught on Gaza before suddenly reaching for his heaviest weapon.

Rather than using the stature and authority of his office during the crucial months of October and November to call for an immediate and comprehensive cessation of hostilities and accountability for all who have violated the laws of war or international humanitarian law, he instead chose to advocate for a vaguely-defined “humanitarian ceasefire”.

For Guterres, the Gaza Crisis constitutes a low point in an already unremarkable and frankly mediocre tenure. There’s a reason morale at the UN is disintegrating.

One does not require the benefit of hindsight to conclude that Guterres would have done better to align himself with the overwhelming majority of UN member states, who on 12 December, in numerous speeches from the floor, once again spoke out against the horrors of this war and called for it to end forthwith.

Mouin Rabbani is Co-Editor, Jadaliyya www.jadaliyya.com

IPS UN Bureau

 

Follow @IPSNewsUNBureau
!function(d,s,id){var js,fjs=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],p=/^http:/.test(d.location)?'http':'https';if(!d.getElementById(id)){js=d.createElement(s);js.id=id;js.src=p+'://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js';fjs.parentNode.insertBefore(js,fjs);}}(document, 'script', 'twitter-wjs');